The goal of the voter-approved Measure A sales tax increase is to grow the police force to 485 sworn officers in about three years.

» Social News

Brand-new police Officer Jesus Salinas Jr. received his badge Monday.

"It is not yet shrouded with a black band," Police Chief Eric Jones told the audience at Salinas' swearing-in ceremony.

"But it will be," Jones said.

In all, seven new officers were welcomed into the Stockton Police Department, even as the department grieves the death of Officer Scott Hewell - the first Stockton officer to die in the line of duty in 21 years.

While Monday's ceremony contained the usual smiles, handshakes and hearty applause, this is a sobering time for a rookie officer who will hit the streets today for the first time.

Hewell's memorial service is scheduled for Thursday. He died two weeks after being involved in a crash while responding to help with the arrest of a shooting suspect.

"It's a hard time. We've just seen a fellow officer pass away in the line of duty," said Salinas, 24, who graduated last fall from the police academy at San Joaquin Delta College.

His determination hasn't wavered, he said.

"There's always risk, but I see any job being risky," Salinas said. "You've just got to take all the training you have and protect yourself and your partners."

Six of the officers honored Monday had been sent by the city to the Butte College Law Enforcement Academy. All six graduated last week, quite an accomplishment when you consider the academy started with 51 students and only 29 finished, new Officer K.C. Yee said.

"It's a testimony to Stockton's selection process," said the 37-year-old Yee, an Army veteran and a former Stockton mortgage banker.

Of course, the significance of the black bands was not lost on Yee, either.

It's terrible to have to wear them, he said. "But it's also something that serves as a reminder just to be careful out there. Just be super careful," Yee said.

Contact reporter Alex Breitler at (209) 546-8295 or abreitler@recordnet.com. Follow him at recordnet.com/breitlerblog and on Twitter @alexbreitler.